April 21, 2014 1:14 p.m. | Waukesha County residents recycled enough waste containers and paper in 2013 to cover an entire football field to a depth of 22 feet, about the height of a two-story building.

The recyclables were collected by 25 municipalities, and they will split more than $1.2 million from sales of the material to help offset their costs of the service, county solid waste supervisor Rebecca Mattano said Monday. Waukesha County has paid out more than $12.1 million to the municipalities since 2001.

The 25 communities spent $3 million to collect and haul plastics, glass, metal and paper in 2013, so the county payments will cover a little more than one-third of the total costs, according to Dale Shaver, director of the county Parks and Land Use Department.

"That's true tax relief," Shaver said. A dozen other municipalities do not participate in the county program.

The City of Waukesha, the county's most populous community, will get a check in the amount of $297,518 for its share of the revenue. The City of Brookfield will receive $212,634.

April 21, 2014 11:51 a.m. | An extended-stay Hilton hotel could be constructed west of the Hampton Inn on the northwest corner of Bluemound and Barker roads, pending a public hearing on a request to rezone the proposed development site.

Following a positive recommendation from the town of Brookfield Plan Commission on Tuesday, the Town Board will take action at its next meeting to schedule a public hearing on rezoning the 3.1-acre property from office and professional business, to limited general business use.

With an estimated project cost of $11 million, the proposed four-story Home2 Suites hotel would include 107 guestrooms, a combined laundry and fitness area, and a swimming pool. Studio guestroom units begin at just under 325 square feet and one-bedroom suites range in size up to about 490 square feet, according to a project overview submitted to the town. Suites would include a kitchen area with a full-sized refrigerator/freezer, dishwasher, microwave oven and coffeemaker.

Home2 Suites is a new Hilton brand that, according to the project overview, targets "travel savvy" guests with an "edgy, upscale brand offering and price point." The company expects to have 38 Home2 Suites open in North America by this summer, with another 63 in the works.

Planning and Zoning Administrator Gary Lake said the hotel proposed for the town would be the second Home2 Suites planned for the Milwaukee metro area, with another to be developed just south of the airport.